What have you done to your car today?
- Thread starter mattyprice4004
- Start date
Soldato
Took the car in to kwikfit, as I thought it had a slow puncture. Turns out there's damage to the back of the alloy wheel, so its going in to be looked at/replaced tomorrow at a garage. 
No idea how its happened, they did mention potholes but I certainly don't remember hitting any out of the ordinary.
The roads around here are in a terrible state though.
No idea how its happened, they did mention potholes but I certainly don't remember hitting any out of the ordinary.
The roads around here are in a terrible state though.
Soldato
Opened up the MX-5 for the first time in 6 weeks to find it soaked inside with mildew everywhere
Same here
The new roof is mohair rather than vinyl so it suffers with the wet weather. Will hopefully be driving again on Monday which will help no end if the A/C and heater are on. Which moisture traps did you go for? In other news, the winters are now fitted to the ebay 16's and on the car. Doesn't look as bad as I thought with the smaller wheels on. Perhaps a change in colour is in order... perhaps red to match the roof
72k on it when I bought it a couple of months ago, did cambelt etc for piece of mind and it's on 76k now, nothing has even broke yet and it's a Vauxhall! But don't believe everything you read on OcUK motors forum I suppose
When has anyone said that Vauxhalls are unreliable? My Vectras have been possibly the most reliable cars i have ever had given the abuse and lack of maintenance that they have received over the years.
On the contrary it is actually mostly banded around here (and this tallies with my experience too) that BMW's and Mercs are some of the most unreliable cars around.
Soldato
In fairness, there are plenty of people who seem to be under the impression that Vectras/Astras are dangerously slow, terribly handling piles of crap, whilst Mondeos/Focuses are some sort of budget supercar. When in reality there's not a lot of difference and they're all perfectly decent, reliable cars.
I've also always been surprised to hear of the whole Merc/BMW unreliability reputation - whilst I'm sure they cost a bit more to run than a Focus, there's millions of old W203s and E46s knocking around and I somehow doubt their owners are spending thousands every year on maintenance.
I'll tell you all day that Astras / corsas of the early to mid 2000's have some.of the worst steering and pedal weights I have ever come across, and I've driven some utter piles of ****e.
I would never say that their petrol engines are inherently unreliable though. I also happen to think the new astra is a better car than the mk3 focus, plus quite like the insignia
I would never say that their petrol engines are inherently unreliable though. I also happen to think the new astra is a better car than the mk3 focus, plus quite like the insignia
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Soldato
I had a 2004 Astra as my first car and the steering and pedals were fairly light, but it didn't feel like anything other than a pretty normal car to me. The interior always felt a lot better than a MK2 Focus as well, so it all seems a bit much for muchness really. And as light as the Astra was, the 2010 Peugeot 207 I drove a couple of weeks back was far, far worse - it really did have no feel at all.
Its absolutely horrendous - definitely pug bad, with added elastic band effect ( the corsa was worse for this in fairness) with random weighting halfway through turning - sure you don't have overly fond memories as it was a first car?
To say the interior is better than the mk2 focus is an....interesting interpretation too, but that's more subjective I guess
To say the interior is better than the mk2 focus is an....interesting interpretation too, but that's more subjective I guess
Soldato
Its absolutely horrendous - definitely pug bad, with added elastic band effect ( the corsa was worse for this in fairness) with random weighting halfway through turning - sure you don't have overly fond memories as it was a first car?
To say the interior is better than the mk2 focus is an....interesting interpretation too, but that's more subjective I guess
I dunno about fond memories, more indifference really, the same indifference I have towards the Focus.
My interior certainly felt lighter and more spacious, but I guess that could be due to the colour combination - the Focuses I've been in have all had dark seats and plastics.
Soldato
Bit more leather done with the headrests (still drying a bit), my kids have been ill this week so not really had much chance to go in the garage. Hoping to finish the back seat backrest early next week and then do the fronts.
Before:
After:
I think what amazes me most is that it really seems to feed the leather and any cracks seem to heal up, especially on the seams which I thought would need work but they look perfect now.
Before:
After:
I think what amazes me most is that it really seems to feed the leather and any cracks seem to heal up, especially on the seams which I thought would need work but they look perfect now.
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Soldato
That is pretty amazing! How long do you think it will last?
Soldato
This is when he puts his head against the head rest and dyes his hair tan
Soldato
Haha, well I've got to seal it with a clear layer so hopefully no dye will come off (I've gone for a satin seal). The car is garaged and a second car so I hope it will last a good few years, I'm not really doing much different to what is done to leather in the first place anyway. My drivers bolster will be the big challenge, I'll get some before/after pics of that when I get the car back from the paint shop next week or the week after.
Soldato
Bought a Citroen Saxo power seering pump, it's an electric pump for hydraulic steering, it's going to be retro-fitted to my astra. The power steering pump on the Saab engine is in the way of the intake pipe, and the return hose is now a consumable item as it rubs against the slam panel!
So the Saxo pump can be mounted in the wheel arch out the way, just needs a 12v ignition live and we're away.
So the Saxo pump can be mounted in the wheel arch out the way, just needs a 12v ignition live and we're away.
Associate
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Soldato
I used the Furniture Clinic kit on my leather doorcards turning them from light grey to very dark grey/black and even with daily contact the finish was very hard wearing with no obvious wear. And this was on 11 year old leather. I rate it highly based on my experience, but prep is the key as always.